With your website usually being the first point of contact prospects have of your business, it makes perfect sense that you want to leave a lasting impression on your first-time visitors.
Your professional website should be able to effectively communicate what you’re all about, and it should be extremely easy to navigate. Not to mention, it should be pleasing to the eye, no matter how simple it looks.
This is where web design comes in.
If you’re new to web design, you might think that it’s just about the site’s layout. It’s actually more than that. In fact, it encompasses a range of factors besides layout; web design also includes content, graphics, SEO (search engine optimization), and conversion rate optimization.
Although web design is a critical component of your promotional efforts, many companies don’t realize that it’s just a single part of an overall digital marketing plan. This means that it should be consistent with the rest of the facets of your strategy – in terms of appearance, feel, and purpose.
Why Does Web Design Matter?
Simply put, a solid, well-executed web design is more than capable of helping you achieve your company goals. Here’s how:
- It Gives the First Impression
Your web design can either make or break your business. Why? It sets the first impression of your brand. It will be the first thing prospective customers judge upon landing on your website.
Your website is pretty much the digital face of your business. If somebody steps foot on your physical store, wouldn’t it just be fantastic if they’re greeted in the warmest possible way? Without a doubt, it’ll give them a good feeling about your business.
A good web design is the equivalent to this friendly face welcoming your visitors. And, if your visitors like what they’re seeing, they’ll definitely stay on your page and learn more about you, helping you keep your leads (and perhaps even converting them).
However, an outdated or unappealing website will only get your visitors to leave and turn to a competitor of yours. You’ll find yourself missing out on a lot of opportunities just because you didn’t prioritize web design.
- It Offers Great User Experience (UX)
A positive UX is key to retaining your visitors. Not only does it get them to stay longer and explore your pages, but it’s also what keeps them coming back to your website. The more user-friendly your site is, the more traffic you gain.
Websites that use large images and flashy videos are known to shoo visitors away since these elements slow down loading times, and we know how most feel about waiting – they despise it.
Sites that make it hard for users to find what they’re looking for are no good either. Imagine spending five minutes trying to locate the “contact” button. Obviously, you’ll end up feeling frustrated and leave. That’s certainly something you don’t want to happen to your audience.
- It Helps Your SEO Strategy
If your on-page SEO fundamentals fail to meet the required standards, there’s a huge chance that you’ll struggle with your online visibility. In short, people searching for the products and/or services you offer won’t see your website on Google or other search engines.
This is yet another reason why you should focus on web design.
Many web design elements affect how you publish content, influencing how search engine spiders crawl and index your website. Keeping your content engaging and updated is a surefire way to drive traffic and boost your ranking. On the other hand, poor content will get you nowhere but down south.
Additionally, there are other elements that can directly affect SEO in and of themselves. Web design can get too complicated, especially if you’re not familiar with how it works. If that’s the case, we suggest you team up with an agency that specializes in web design at West Palm Beach.
- It Establishes Trust with Your Audience
People find it difficult to trust badly designed websites. If your site looks messy or contains outdated information, your visitors will view it as shady, which means bad news for you. Besides tainting your brand reputation, you’ll lose visitors who could potentially turn into customers.
Let’s say you run a manufacturing company. Someone looks to spend a big chunk of money for a bulk order, but upon seeing how disorganized your website is, they decide to cancel their decision and look for another business instead.
A professional site should be designed in a way that can signal trust with your audience. That way, they can fully count on you to take care of their needs or solve their problems with your products and/or services.
- It Serves as an Essential Feature for Virtual Data Rooms (VDR)
A virtual data room is a secure online repository for document storage and distribution. It’s where companies can store their confidential documents in one place, and share them with their investors and others involved in the deal.
To be effective, it should have a responsive web design. This means being able to adapt to multiple screens and resolutions, especially now that mobile devices continue to grow in popularity.
What’s more, a VDR should have a great interface, particularly one that’s appealing and user-friendly. People accessing it must be able to navigate smoothly.
Final Thoughts
There are many different marketing agency structures. It is important to choose one that works best for your firm, but a simple structure will work well for smaller teams. In addition, having a marketing agency structure will allow your team to work efficiently and effectively, and ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
Web design can benefit your business tremendously.
When done right, it will elevate the user experience and encourage your visitors to come back to your website every now and then. They could get so invested to the extent that they turn into your customers.
